The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices, economic mismanagement and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his abrupt death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his Vice President Rupiah BANDA, who subsequently won a special presidential by-election in October 2008. Michael SATA was elected President in September 2011.

Southern Africa, east of Angola, south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

15 00 S, 30 00 E

Africa

slightly larger than Texas

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April)

mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains

copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower

1,560 sq km (2003)

105.2 cu km (2001)

periodic drought; tropical storms (November to April)

air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks

landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe; Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border forms the world's largest reservoir by volume (180 cu km; 43 cu mi)

African 99.5% (includes Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, Lozi, Nsenga, Tumbuka, Ngoni, Lala, Kaonde, Lunda, and other African groups), other 0.5% (includes Europeans, Asians, and Americans) (2000 Census)

Bemba (official) 30.1%, Nyanja (official) 10.7%, Tonga (official) 10.6%, Lozi (official) 5.7%, Chewa 4.9%, Nsenga 3.4%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (official) 2.2%, Kaonde (official) 2%, Lala 2%, Luvale (official) 1.7%, English (official) 1.7%, other 22.5% (2000 Census)

Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1%

13,817,479 (July 2012 est.)

2.89% (2012 est.)

43.1 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

13.4 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

LUSAKA (capital) 1.413 million (2009)

440 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

5.85 children born/woman (2012 est.)

4.8% of GDP (2009)

0.055 physicians/1,000 population (2006)

1.9 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 59% of population

rural: 43% of population

total: 49% of population

urban: 41% of population

rural: 57% of population

total: 51% of population

13.5% (2009 est.)

980,000 (2009 est.)

45,000 (2009 est.)

14.9% (2007)

1.3% of GDP (2008)

republic

10 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Muchinga, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western

24 October 1964 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 24 October (1964)

24 August 1991; amended in 1996 to establish presidential term limits

mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, 8 members appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms)

Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases)

Alliance for Democracy and Development or ADD [Charles MILUPI]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Edith NAWAKWI]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Nevers MUMBA]; National Restoration Party or NAREP [Elias CHIPIMO]; Party of Unity for Democracy and Development or PUDD [Dan PULE]; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; United Democratic Alliance or UDA (a coalition of RP, ZADECO, PUDD, and ZRP); United Liberal Party or ULP [Sakwiba SIKOTA]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Tilyenji KAUNDA]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Hakainde HICHILEMA]; Zambia Democratic Congress or ZADECO [Langton SICHONE]; Zambian Republican Party or ZRP [Benjamin MWILA]

NA

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

green field with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of the flag; green stands for the country's natural resources and vegetation, red symbolizes the struggle for freedom, black the people of Zambia, and orange the country's mineral wealth; the eagle represents the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems

African fish eagle

Zambia's economy has experienced strong growth in recent years, with real GDP growth in 2005-12 more than 6% per year. Privatization of government-owned copper mines in the 1990s relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly increased copper mining output and profitability to spur economic growth. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and foreign investment. In 2005, Zambia qualified for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, consisting of approximately US$6 billion in debt relief. Poverty remains a significant problem in Zambia, despite a stronger economy. Zambia's dependency on copper makes it vulnerable to depressed commodity prices, but record high copper prices and a bumper maize crop in 2010 helped Zambia rebound quickly from the world economic slowdown that began in 2008. Zambia has made some strides to improve the ease of doing business. A high birth rate, relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, and market distorting agricultural policies have meant that Zambia's economic growth has not dramatically decreased the stubbornly high poverty rates.

$23.68 billion (2012 est.)

$22.24 billion (2011 est.)

$20.87 billion (2010 est.)

$20.68 billion (2012 est.)

6.5% (2012 est.)

6.6% (2011 est.)

7.6% (2010 est.)

$1,700 (2012 est.)

$1,600 (2011 est.)

$1,600 (2010 est.)

5.839 million (2012 est.)

14% (2006 est.)

50% (2000 est.)

64% (2006)

50.8 (2004)

52.6 (1998)

20.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

19.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

-6.2% of GDP (2012 est.)

31.2% of GDP (2012 est.)

26.7% of GDP (2011 est.)

6.5% (2012 est.)

8.7% (2011 est.)

8.39% (31 December 2009)

14.49% (31 December 2008)

13% (31 December 2012 est.)

18.84% (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.919 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.631 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.906 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.075 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.956 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$3.293 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.009 billion (31 December 2011)

$2.817 billion (31 December 2010)

$2.804 billion (31 December 2009)

corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides

8.8% (2011 est.)

-$1.048 billion (2012 est.)

$215 million (2011 est.)

$8.346 billion (2012 est.)

$8.672 billion (2011 est.)

copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity; tobacco, flowers, cotton

China 34.8%, Switzerland 18.2%, South Africa 7.8%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.4%, South Korea 4.4% (2011)

$7.279 billion (2012 est.)

$6.454 billion (2011 est.)

machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer, foodstuffs, clothing

South Africa 36.7%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 20.6%, China 10%, Kuwait 5.9% (2011)

$2.616 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.324 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$5.445 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.619 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$NA

$NA

Zambian kwacha (ZMK) per US dollar -

5,100 (2012 est.)

4,860.7 (2011 est.)

4,797.1 (2010 est.)

5,046.1 (2009)

3,512.9 (2008)

calendar year

10.2 billion kWh (2009 est.)

7.704 billion kWh (2009 est.)

110 million kWh (2010)

33 million kWh (2010 est.)

1.679 million kW (2009 est.)

0.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

99.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

10,790 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2013 est.)

9,664 bbl/day (2008 est.)

19,260 bbl/day (2011 est.)

21.18 bbl/day (2009 est.)

17,570 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

2.416 million Mt (2010 est.)

85,700 (2011)

8.165 million (2011)

state-owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) operates 1 TV station and is the principal local-content provider; several private TV stations; multi-channel subscription TV services are available; ZNBC operates 3 radio networks; about 2 dozen private radio stations; relays of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible in Lusaka and Kitwe (2007)

.zm

16,571 (2012)

816,200 (2009)

88 (2012)

oil 771 km (2010)

2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2010)

Mpulungu

Zambian National Defense Force (ZNDF): Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force, National Service (paramilitary youth organization) (2012)

national registration required at age 16; 18-27 years of age for male and female voluntary military service (16 years of age with parental consent); no conscription; Zambian citizenship required; mandatory HIV testing upon enlistment; mandatory retirement for officers at age 65 (Army, Air Force) (2012)

1.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, small amounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for southern Africa and possibly Europe; a poorly developed financial infrastructure coupled with a government commitment to combating money laundering make it an unattractive venue for money launderers; major consumer of cannabis